How do you feel about someone lingering over your shoulder while you’re trying to write? Personally? It makes me nuts. The other night, the little darlin’ had to do a report for school, and after I’d downloaded the information she needed and she completed the report, she hung around and was reading over my shoulder while I was managing to get in a couple of paragraphs of my latest WIP.

At first I tried ignoring her. I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to continue my story and I should have been able to shut out everything but that portion. No dice. Having that little presence tap-dancing behind me finally made me nuts. I had to give it up. I could not write with her in the same room. I have to be able to concentrate on what I’m trying to say and just having her in the same room was a huge distraction.

So, I guess having a door on the office is a good thing. Some writers have to have privacy and quiet in order to create. You cannot have a young child asking constant questions, reading over your shoulder or … for that matter … even in the same room with you while you try to work. Don’t know ‘bout you, but I find that I’m easily distracted.

And I’m likin’ that. Yesterday was my Abraxine cocktail and the infusion went off without a hitch. That was the “Nuthin’ New” part.

I was chatting with the woman next to me, Sharon, and we were (of course) comparing notes of treatment. She’s having a rough time of things. Sharon has to come in for infusions every three weeks, but her particular cocktail is so rough that for her first week after treatment she’s pretty much in a constant state of crash and burn. Primarily exhaustion, nausea, the whole nine yards. Not pleasant.

I didn’t ask her what type of cancer she had but she mentioned a tumor and it has forced her into an early retirement. That’s pretty rough. I’ve always been proud of the fact that I’ve never really had to stop working (beyond the several weeks following the mastectomy and the reconstruction) and that the disruption in the my work life has been comparably moderate.

Its kinda funny the things what bugs you when you’re a cancer patient going through treatment. We both agreed that losing our hair was a minor inconvenience. This includes the hair on our head, underarm hair and leg hair … didn’t discuss pubic hair but I think that was sorta implied. However, it was the loss of our eyebrows and eyelashes that bugged the hell outta both of us. Don’t know why … probably because eyebrows and eyelashes are so public. Its something that people see (or don’t see) immediately. Makeup is a wonderful thing as far as I’m concerned. I don’t leave home without it. The eyebrows are easy enough to recreate, but unless you go the fake eyelash route, eye-liner pretty much disguises the fact you have no eyelashes. It was quite awhile before anyone realized I didn’t have any. (Sorry — any guys out there, this tip won’t be of any help to you.)

The good news is that Sharon has only one more treatment left and her tumor has shrunk by over 90%. Gotta love that and you keep on truckin’, Sharon

And remember to repeat after me …“YOU ARE A CANCER WARRIOR”

Now — I know a lot of people find cooking a relaxing occupation. Most of the time I don’t mind it … provided I have the time. But when one is working full time, getting home around 5:30 and there is homework to supervise, and odds and ends to get done, it’s a little difficult to come up with a healthy meal. Fortunately hubby does half the cooking, so it isn’t completely on my shoulders.

I’m thankful that we’re in a day and age of easily prepared meals. Breakfast? Instant oatmeal or frozen waffles. Lunch? Whatever leftovers happen to be in the fridge, or a sandwich for the little darlin’s lunchbox (along with various other prepackaged goodies). Dinner? A little tougher but there are always quickie meals to be found. Weekends tend to be easier since the time is there to indulge in making a full meal. Breaded porkchops, a tenderloin, a roasted chicken … with all the sides. And even then, with prepackaged potatoes, canned veggies and frozen desserts, it doesn’t take half the time that it used to take my mother or my grandmother.

Come to think of it … what the hell am I bitchin’ about in this blog?

During the week, when its my turn to cook … I generally head over to Zaffiro’s for a pizza. Now that’s my idea of cookin’.

Finally getting back some of my enthusiasm for writing. Yay! There was a dry period for awhile when nothing I wrote interest me. I suppose you can say I was in a funk during which I tried a number of exercises to snap out of it. Wrote junk. Read. Tried writing something completely different from my normal genre. Nope. Nada. Nothing was working.

Not sure what snapped me out of this funk, but I’m hoping its made a permanent exit - stage right. There is nothing worse than a writer who cannot write. Its disheartening and depressing. And something that isn’t exactly uncommon. I was talking to a friend of mine the other day. She’s going through a rough period in her life and says there is no way she can even consider writing. Her life is too disrupted to allow herself the time and energy to devote to her writing. Can’t say I blame her but this can run in both directions. Controversy in your life might also act as a catalyst and thrust you into productivity. A sort of therapy or activity to take your mind off of your problems.

Which do you think is more likely. A disruption in your personal life affecting your writing adversely? Or your writing allowing you to work through your personal life?

Okay, remember last week I mentioned having what could have been a reaction to the Avastin/Abraxine cocktail? With the other option being a reaction to the recalled Tylenol that I’d been popping the Thursday and Friday after my Avastin/Abraxine cocktail.

Well it sounds like …. drum roll please … it may have been the Tylenol. I finally got through on the 800 number and after listening to an irritating pre-recorded advice about returning the half dozen or so products on the recall list, you were directed to contact an 888 number which is the McNeil Group & Associates (or something like that.) I listened to the half dozen or so (again) irritating pre-recorded messages, trying to get a warm body (without success I might add) when I finally punched in option number 5 which was a list of the symptoms. The spiel went through the usual “The following reactions may occur in a very small percentage of people who took this product.” They then listed mild nausea, flu-like symptoms and diarrhea. Bingo! Those were exactly the symptoms I was experiencing two weeks ago.

Still not a guaranty that this is what caused my crash and burns. I guess we’ll find out this weekend because I’d just had my Avastin/Abraxine cocktail yesterday. I’m hoping it was a Tylenol reaction since this chemo cocktail appears to be working and I don’t want to be taken off of it.

And remember to repeat after me …“YOU ARE A CANCER WARRIOR”